Alert archive / Arkansas / Flash Flood Warnings in 1990

Flash Flood Warning 23, NWS Tulsa, OK

May 19, 1990Franklin County, Arkansas

NWS Tulsa, OK issued this flash flood warning at May 19, 1990, 3:46 PM CDT for Franklin County, Arkansas. It was in force for 3 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 19, 1990, 3:46 PM CDT (20:46 UTC)
Expired
May 19, 1990, 6:45 PM CDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Tulsa, OK
Area
Whole counties

County Franklin County, AR

The radar

The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.

The nearest sounding before it

Springfield, MO (KUMN), launched 12:00Z, 8.8 hours before the alert went out and 155 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Springfield, MO at 12:00Z on 1990-05-19Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 153 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Springfield, MO at 12:00Z on 1990-05-19The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 507 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.
Mixed-layer CAPE
153 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-326 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
814 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
32 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
507 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
651 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
7.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KFSM 192048
FFWFSM
ARC047-192345-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT SMITH AR
346 PM CDT SAT MAY 19 1990
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN FORT SMITH HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  645 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN WEST ARKANSAS
 
   ...FRANKLIN COUNTY
 
DUE TO HEAVY RAIN OVER THE PAST FEW HOURS...STREAMS ARE RISING RAPIDLY
AND ROADS ARE BEGINNING TO FLOOD. PEOPLE IN LOW LYING OR FLOOD PRONE
AREAS SHOULD MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND IMMEDIATELY.
 
 
DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE THE WATER COVERS THE
ROADWAY.  THE WATER DEPTH MAY BE TOO GREAT TO ALLOW YOUR CAR TO
CROSS SAFELY.  VEHICLES CAUGHT IN RISING WATER SHOULD BE
ABANDONED QUICKLY.  MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND.
 
MOST DEATHS IN FLASH FLOODING OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES.  DO NOT
ATTEMPT TO CROSS BRIDGES...DIPS...OR LOW SPOTS IF WATER COVERS
THE ROADWAY.  NEVER TRY TO CROSS A FLOWING STREAM...EVEN A
SMAL{L ONE...ON FOOT.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this flash flood warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, May 19, 12:47 PM CDT, 2 hours 59 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA, OK
1244 PM CDT SAT MAY 19 1990

   ...THUNDERSTORMS ARE DEVELOPING RAPIDLY OVER EASTERN OKLAHOMA...

AN AREA OF THUNDERSTORMS IS DEVELOPING OVER EASTERN OKLAHOMA...AND
SOME OF THESE STORMS COULD BECOME SEVERE SHORTLY. THE AREA IS ABOUT
10 MILES WIDE AND EXTENDS ACROSS PORTIONS OF LAKE KEYSTONE NEAR NEW
PRUE NORTHWEST TO SKIATOOK.

THOSE PERSONS OUTDOORS...ESPECIALLY ANY BOATERS ON LAKES KEYSTONE AND
SKIATOOK NEED TO KEEP AN EYE ON THESE STORMS AND SHOULD MOVE TO A SAFE
PLACE IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES.

THESE STORMS WILL BECOME MORE NUMEROUS LATER THIS AFTERNOON...AND WILL
LIKELY BE SEVERE IN SOME AREAS. CIVIL DEFENSE AND SPOTTER GROUPS MAY
WANT TO BEGIN MAKING PREPARATIONS FOR POSSIBLE ACTIVATION THIS AFTERNOON.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR COMMERCIAL RADIO AND TELEVISION
FOR LATER STATEMENTS OR POSSIBLE WARNINGS.

                                                                     ]
Local storm report, May 19, 1:28 PM CDT, 2 hours 18 minutes before
STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA, OK
126 PM CDT SAT MAY 19 1990

...DELAYED REPORTS FROM EARLY THIS MORNING  MAY 19 1990...

TIME/CDT     COUNTY      EVENT

 245 AM      PITTSBURG   DIME SIZE HAIL 5 MILES SOUTHWEST OF
                         SAVANA.
Local storm report, May 19, 3:38 PM CDT, 8 minutes before
STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA, OK
334 PM CDT SAT MAY 19 1990

TIME/CDT     COUNTY      EVENT

 220 PM      OSAGE       DIME SIZE HAIL 5 MILES NORTHEAST OF NEW PRUE.

 242 PM      OSAGE       QUARTER SIZE HAIL 5 MILES EAST OF NEW PRUE.

 305 PM      OSAGE       NICKEL SIZE HAIL 9 MILES NORTHWEST OF SAND
                         SPRINGS.

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Arkansas, 1990Every flash flood warning in 1990

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.